Study: Radio Deemed Most Popular, Satisfying In-Car Source

Story by Inside Radio

More than 3/4ths of American drivers (77%) listen to radio in the car weekly. That total dwarfs all other audio options, CD players (41%), connecting a phone (27%), satellite radio (23%), Pandora (18%), Spotify (13%), Apple Music (10%) and Amazon Music (10%).

That’s one of the topline results from new research of 1,200 English-speaking American drivers aged 18-64 from Frank Magid & Associates.

“The message is very, very good for radio, which has always been very strong in the car,” Mike Bloxham, senior VP, television & video at the research firm, said during a first look at the results at the NAB Show Wednesday in Las Vegas. “The narrative around radio has been hijacked by the media and agency people but the data always refutes that position.”

Asked which audio source they use most often in the car, half (51%) of all respondents selected AM/FM, more than two-and-one-half times its next nearest competitor, satellite radio at No. 2 with 14%. That was followed by the CD player (10%), connecting a phone (7%), Pandora (6%), Spotify (4%), Amazon Prime Music (2%) and Apple Music (1%).

AM/FM was also found to be the most important audio source in the car, with 73% giving it a 4 or 5 on a 1-5 importance scale. All other options trailed by significant margins: CD player (49%), connecting a phone (40%), satellite radio (28%), Pandora (24%), Spotify (16%), Amazon Prime Music (12%) and Apple Music (12%).

The study also shows broadcast radio delivers the highest level of satisfaction of any in-car audio source. More than seven in ten (72%) said they are either very or highly satisfied with AM/FM radio in the car. Once again, no other service came close. CD player ranked second (51%), followed by connecting a phone (34%), satellite radio (23%) and Pandora (10%).

A majority of drivers said they would miss AM/FM radio if it was not available in their next car. “It’s like taking the tires off, if you took the radio out,” Bloxham said. And AM/FM is the No. 1 source for eight of the top 10 most important in-car attributes, such as “playing my favorite music,” “easy to use” and “playing a variety of music,” along with service elements such as traffic, local news and weather.

Radio’s place in the daily routine of Americans “will give the medium a real strong defense against the intrusion of other services,” Bloxham said. “But it doesn’t make you inviolate. It means you still have to be on your guard against the intrusion of others who are sexier or more glamorous. But you have a very strong case to make.”

The study was conducted in conjunction with veteran researcher Marshall Cohen and consultant Fred Jacobs. Completed in October 2015, it included 1,200 English-speaking American drivers aged 18-64 who drive at least 30 minutes per day and had some involvement in the car purchase decision-making process.